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On the very slim chance that anyone reading this lives near Bloomington, Indiana, I want to invite you to local authors fair tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 2nd) that will be fun for all ages.  Notable authors like graphic novelist Nate Powell and best-selling author-illustrators Rob Harrell and Keiko Kasza will be there! I will, too, but as a minor star in among bright constellations. I'll be signing my latest book, Clouds in Space.
There will be free cake and cookies, too! That's what I'm really there for. ;) Hope to see some of you there.
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I have been wanting for years to learn how to create products with designs on them but only learned recently that it's called "surface pattern design." Mostly, it began with fabrics. I was a fabric hoarder for a long time. I'm no longer as obsessed, but I still love fabric with unusual designs. As well, I love notebooks with gorgeous covers (and hoard notebooks, too). So, it was about time I learned how to do it. I only wish I had learned 20 years ago. I'm on my second intensive course on it and I absolutely love it. Here are some basic rosettes I've created in addition to a drawing of dogwood blossoms. They will need to be inked, colored, and vectorized. I can't wait to make fabric, wallpaper, or other products with the designs! What do you think? Would you buy my products with this type of art on them?
The breakout session on “writing graphic novels for the first time for total beginners” that I taught at the Marvelous Midwest Conference was very well received. It was a step-by-step guide based on my experience writing two graphic biographies combine with everything I learned from courses I'd taken, books I've read, and research I'd done. Since a number of people have mentioned that they would have liked to have been in that breakout, I decided that making an e-course would be the best way to reach the most people. The course will comprise of “bite-sized”, manageable lessons that include video and text, as well as exercises and handouts. I plan to have it available as a self-paced course that people can do on their own schedule. But I will, once or twice a year, offer a guided option, too, where I can meet with students several times during the asynchronous lessons. If you know anyone who'd like to take the class, have them sign up here to be notified as soon as it comes out in the early part of next year, stamina willing.  Whoa, it's been a busy week...and I forgot it's Friday! If you don't want to forget what day it is next year, you might want to buy one of my 2025 Wild About Wildflowers desk calendars. 😊 They're a tidy 4x6 inches big with its own metal stand. The calendar, complete with a stand, is $10 each (with $5 shipping for U.S. $7 shipping for two or more; higher for mailing to Canada and other countries). Here'a sampling of the pages...click on any image to bring up the slideshow. If you would like one, just leave a comment or use my contact form to let me know. I take Venmo or Paypal. Indulge in some native floral beauty next year!
I have spent too much time in the past 3 days on Canva creating reels for social media. What did you waste your time on this week? We've reached the end of the haiku sampling from my #HaikuSaturday poetry over at Bluesky. I hope you've enjoyed these snippets of poetry and photos! See you next Friday for something completely different. 😃
As you know from the last 2 posts this month (here and here) I have a horde of haiku, enough for the rest of this month...and more. But I shall stop after next week unless the three readers (that many?!) of my blog beg me to continue. ;)
More next week, my friends!
As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I've been following the #HaikuSaturday challenge on Bluesky for a while, so I wanted to share some with you this month in hopes you'll join us there!
A few years back, poet Susan Andrews spearheaded a #HaikuSaturday challenge on what was then Twitter. Since then, it has been re-started by photographer/writer Beth Volkman over at Bluesky, which is where I've been joining in. I know it's not National Poetry Month, but I'm going to share some of my past haikus just for fun. I hope you'll find them amusing or insightful. :)
If you enjoyed these, there are more to come the next 3 Fridays. Also, come friend me on Bluesky and join in the #HaikuSaturday fun!
 I love to help; I really do. I'm generally volunteering for something or another (over a quarter century, from being on the helpline for our states home educators network to the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators). But as I get older, I've become less energetic, while at the same time I still want to try out new and different interests (such as surface pattern design) or get back to old hobbies (such as playing the ukelele), I don't have time to do it all.
Even worse sometimes, the help I offer is wholly unappreciated. It's not like I seek out glory or monetary compensation, but just knowing there's a bit of gratitude for the time I put into something would be nice. Twice in the past month, I have put much effort into a couple of things with zero acknowledgement. And this was a busy month with lots of vegetable processing, book deadlines, and taking classes. The veggies, book deadlines, and classes are a great return on my time invested. The other 2 things, not at all. So, henceforth, I will give up volunteering for pretty much everything. The exception? Being a writing mentor. I have mentored three people so far and they have been really rewarding experiences. I genuinely care about the careers of the writers I coached. So, I will, as time permits, continue to mentor. Do you find yourself saying yes to too many things that aren't giving you anything in return? |
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